Dharmasena Pathiraja began making films in the late ‘60s and ‘70s. His first full-length film, One league of Sky bagged all the prestigious film awards at the Film Critics’ and Journalists Awards, Sri Lanka. His other films include internationally renowned features like How to be an Adult, The Wasps are Here, On the run, Ponmani, Old Soldier, Some day in the future. His documentaries Rejuvenation and In Search of a Road have won international awards and renown. His films have been shown at prestigious films festivals around the world, including Moscow, London, Italy, India, and Singapore and have won acclaim. His latest features include, Swaroopa, an adaptation of Kafka’s novella Metamorphosis and Sakkarang. He has also served on the jury of several international film festivals. In 2003 the first ever retrospective of Pathiraja was held at the Singapore International Film Festival followed by others including Jeonju Film Festival in 2009. In 2000 Pathiraja was awarded the ‘Golden Lion’ for his life time contribution to Sri Lankan cinema. Also an academic, Pathiraja holds a PhD in cinema studies from Monash University, Australia and taught at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. [aliiff.com]

සක්කාරං / sakkāraṁ ‒ Sakkarang • 2014

The film follows the story of a community of traditional dancers who lived in the hinterland of colonial Ceylon. Their duty is to perform in the annual festival of the Temple of the Tooth Relic. The narrative, which has a romantic and lyrical style, is set between two rebellions against colonial rule. It concerns the story of Sube, the chief dancer (Bimal) and Rathi, his enterprising wife (Prasidini). Their story charts the struggle of this marginal and oppressed caste community for its roots, rights, heritage and place in the world, while the country is going through a tortuous transformation from feudalism to modernity. [wikipedia]

මතුයම් දවස / matuyam davasa ‒ Some Day In The Future • 2001

Two young hired assassins, Lionel and Dhammika, are hiding out while their deed is on every television. The same television also shows them John Travolta's violence in Pulp Fiction--strictly amateur stuff! While they are hiding in Colombo, Bandarawela and Ahatuwewa drink, try on hip-hop clothes, befriend an upper class girl. It's only a matter of time until their acts catch up to them. Will they escape once again?

This film is based on incidents that took place in the country within the last 20 years and the impact they caused on the lives of people. It also focuses on the wide-ranging problems faced by the youth of this country. ― Dharmasena Pathiraja

සොල්දාදු උන්නැහෙ / soldādu unnæhe ‒ Old Soldier • 1981

In his 1981 drama, Soldadu Unnahe, Pathiraja depicts the realities of four friends: a soldier, a prostitute, a pimp and an alcoholic who take refuge under a Nuga tree from the loud, warlike celebration of Sri Lankan independence. The fireworks and planes overhead give the soldier of the title flashbacks, reminding him of his experiences in World War II at the end of the British Raj. What have these four unfortunates gained from independence, and what is their future ?

පාර දිගේ / pāra digē ‒ On The Run • 1980

Once again, this is a film about the instabilities of youthful urban life, its search for roots, and its lust fur survival. Chandare works for an insurance company that repossesses vehicles from customers who have defaulted on payments. Both he and his girlfriend are part of a generation of young people who have flooded into the cities in search of work. They are part of the cityscape of Colombo. When the girlfriend discovers she is pregnant both she and Chandare try to put together the money they need for an illegal abortion. But theirs is an arduous journey as the film repeatedly and insistently narrates a story of life's uncertainty. Full of twists and turns, the film ends as inconclusively as it begins.

Malini Fonseka and Vinjaya Kamaratunga acted together in 41 films, and The Wasps are Here is one of their pairings. Fonseka is a young girl engaged to a young fisherman and Kamaratunga is the indolent aristocrat who courts her. His family takes over the market for her village's fish. The encounter between the village and urban business methods has tragic consequences as the activist filmmaker, Dharmasena Pathiraja, shows how traditional Sri Lankan society struggles to cope with the challenges of modernity and ethnic violence.

பொன்மணி / poṉmaṇi ‒ Younger Sister • 1977

Pathirja's only Tamil language film is about a starkly different socio-economic culture and political climate. Set in the northern city of Jaffna, it traces the fortunes and concerns of an economically depleted upper caste lower middle class family. Ponmani, the youngest daughter of the family, has to wait until the marriage of the middle daughter, Saraoja, before she can escape the bareness of her life in the house. But Ganesh, the brother who works in the capital city Colombo, has no money to pay for Saraoja's dowry. In the meantime Ponmani has fallen is love with a Christian man belonging to the fishing caste. What does the future hold for her? An evocative film about land, women, romance and tragedy, narrated in an idiom of understatement, Ponmani brings out the texture of the political economy of Jaffna society and its disturbing connections to the rest of the country.

Coming Of Age is a film about the stresses of life in a small rural village. Susila's mother struggles to bring up the family alone in the absence of a father who had passed away. In order to make ends meet she keeps a lodger, the Gramasevaka, the chief village authority. One day Susila comes of age. The sudden social prominence of her sexuality attracts the attention of young men around her. The Gramasevaka begins to court her and asks her for her hand. But she does not seem to have control over either her sexuality or her own person. Her surroundings dominate her life and she is forced to make choices that are no choices at all.

අහස් ගව්ව / ahas gavva ‒ L'Espace aérien ‒ One League Of Sky • 1974

Pathiraja's first feature length film broke new ground in Sri Lanka with its urban lower middle class emphasis. Three young men have to face the realities of adult life as they move on from youthful frolicking to battle issues of unemployment, restlessness, and the allure of the city. Two of them, Jaye and Gune, unlike their other friend who finds both a job and a wife, have only each other for company. In search of quick and easy money they fall into the hands of a scheming network of underworld figures. They become hustlers and decide to outwit their contact. Will they succeed? Drawn subtley but sharply, the youthful characters point to the increasing concerns of postcolonial Sri Lanka: class, youth, employment, sex and desire.